Chris (or anyone ! )
Is there any chance you have pictures of the rock pile, and the illegal work-around(s) at that point?
It's been a few years since I've been there, largely because most of my trips up there are alone, and that rock pile has never been a favorite place to break something, being alone.
In the "old" days... for the first 25 years that I was going up there, the trail went from that rooted mud hole (that is still there) but turned slightly to the right and cut through the willows, and across the meadow. Neither of those actions are and can't be satisfactory to the Forest Service. Half of the year that part of the trail was mud, deep mud, and then by dry time deep 2-3 foot ruts. It *needed* re-routing, and the Paradise 4 Wheelers got permission to "take it further" up the hill. That they did, as in those days the club was nearly 25-30 FJ-40s, and they wanted to build a "gatekeeper" to Saddle Lake.
Since that time almost no one has been happy with how the rock pile has degraded with weather and use / abuse. Especially from those that created an illegal work around.
The old trail used to go along the right side of Saddle Lake as well, then cut directly up a dirt bank to Mud Lake, eroding the hillside and caused the Mud Lake Trail both from Saddle Lake and down from the Chips Lake trail to be closed. (Fishing there sucked, anyway - and if it didn't, it's a 1/3 mile hike to get there anyway)
IMHO, *something* needs to be done to repair the situation before Saddle Lake. Pictures would sure help "sell" the idea to the Land Managers. I'd be happy to try, and be proactive to get 'er done, rather than reactive after they shut it down.
Ken
